Earthquake Time Bombs

ISBN-13: 9781107085244 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 361 str.

Robert Yeats

Opis

In a media interview in January 2010, scientist Robert Yeats sounded the alarm on Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as an 'earthquake time bomb', a region at critical risk of major seismic activity. One week later, a catastrophic earthquake struck the city, leaving over 100,000 dead and triggering a humanitarian crisis. In this timely study, Yeats sheds new light on other earthquake hotspots around the world and the communities at risk. He examines these seismic threats in the context of recent cultural history, including economic development, national politics and international conflicts. Descriptions of emerging seismic resilience plans from some cities provide a more hopeful picture. Essential reading for policy-makers, infrastructure and emergency planners, scientists, students and anyone living in the shadow of an earthquake, this book raises the alarm so that we can protect our vulnerable cities before it's too late.

Recenzje

'… [the] style of writing is very engaging and the reader feels privileged to accompany Yeats in these important reconnaissance trips and to share his thoughts and observations … fascinating and well worth reading …' Risa Palm, The AAG Review of Books

Spis treści

Part I. Earthquakes, Deep Time and the Population Explosion: 1. Plate tectonics and why we have earthquakes; 2. An earthquake primer; 3. Deep time; 4. When's the next big one?; 5. Population explosion and increased earthquake risk to megacities; Part II. Earthquake Time Bombs: 6. San Francisco Bay Area; 7. Los Angeles metro area; 8. Seattle, Portland and Vancouver; 9. Wellington, New Zealand; 10. Santiago, Chile; 11. Prologue in Central China; 12. Age of Enlightenment and the 1755 Lisbon earthquake; 13. Jerusalem; 14. Istanbul; 15. Tehran; 16. Kabul; 17. Earthquakes in the Himalaya; 18. Myanmar and the Sagaing Fault; 19. Metro Manila, the Philippines; 20. Lima, Peru; 21. Andean earthquakes in Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador; 22. Caracas; 23. Haiti (which lost its gamble), and Jamaica and Cuba (not yet); 24. Mexico City; 25. Central America and the earthquake that brought down a dictator; 26. East African Rift Valley; Part III. Summary and Recommendations: 27. Where do we go from here?; References; Index.